The romance was sweet when it was Talasyn and Alaric bonding over their past traumas or being considerate with each other's needs and fears, but other times it was so formulaic. We really had to have a scene where Alaric gets jealous because Talasyn wears a revealing dress? And in the last 10% of the book?

There was also so little plot progression. They deal with the eclipse and that's it. Literally nothing else happens.

3 stars only because I still like the world and the characters but this book was way too tedious for how short it was. I hope the third book is better.

The cliffhanger in this book is absolutely mind-blowing!

I had a fantastic time reading it and honestly felt it was even more gripping than the first one. The way the tension unfolds gradually, just like in the previous book, really keeps you hooked.

There’s more romance and tender moments that really enhance the depth of the story.

The author has done a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life, making it so easy to get emotionally invested in them. I couldn’t stop reading! So, when does the next book come out?

4,5 ⭐

I absolutely loved the character development between Talasyn and Alaric in A Monsoon Rising. They were much more engaging in this book, and I felt a deeper connection to them, which made their journey even more enjoyable to follow. The storytelling captivates you from the very beginning, and the ending... What a cliffhanger! How can you leave us hanging like that?!

So many stars for this book! I loved Hurricane wars and I loved monsoon rising just as much! I love the progression through the story and the building of Talasyn and Alaric as a couple. The world building and magic system is great and the complexity of the relationships and the politics of family are a perfect mix! Would highly recommend

⭐⭐⭐.5

Where do I start... I do enjoy this story and I think the concept behind these books is really good, and I do find myself wanting to know what happens next, however, It feels like the author struggles to find the right balance between too much lore and too much relationship. I found Hurricane Wars was too much lore and not enough of the relationship between the two mc's, I eventually got bored and just wanted it to end. Then we get Monsoon Rising, where it felt like there was too much relationship and not enough action, and in the same way I got bored and also just wanted the book to end.

It really felt like absolutely nothing happened in this book until the last 100 pages. The rest of the book mainly focused on Talasyn and Alaric's relationship, and even though we got some top tier spice, I still got bored.

Will I be reading the next book, I honestly don't know.... I simultaneously want to know what happens but also don't really care.

Just as good as the first, but with better spice!

I love that this started as a Reylo fanfic and knowing that and reading the books, makes them that much better! War and mystery, our favorite enemies to lovers trope, really great follow up to Hurricane Wars.

Firstly Thank you to NetGalley for giving me and ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I finished The Hurricane Wars I was a little frustrated. The pace was a bit slow. Therefore I went into A Monsoon Rising thinking it would be the same. However, I think as it was a shorter book the pacing was better. It felt like it was edited so much better!

I thought the writing overall was so much better in book 2. There was far less over description (which I struggled with at the start of book 1). The information given to the reader felt more refined.

I am obsessed with the dynamic between Alaric and Tala. It is by far one of the most complex romantasys I’ve read so far. The difference in there political views warring against their attraction. I will be reading the next book for the romance alone. If they choose to not be endgame I will revolt.

I did like the beginning of the book better than book 1, but after I while I just didn’t care anymore. I think this series is unfortunately just not for me. While this is not for me, it will probably be a great book for others as there is a lot of stuff happening, and if you really enjoyed the first book, you will probably enjoy this one too.

2,5⭐️

Ugh I could not put this down! What a book I had been waiting for this one and it gave in to all my hype! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book

What to expect

Marriage of convenience
Dual POV
Enemies to lovers
Forced Proximity
One bed
Political intrigue
Slow burn
Sexual tension
Dragons
Light x Dark magic
Star Wars inspired
Reylo vibes

I probably should have reread book one because the first section of this book confused me—I couldn’t quite remember what happened previously. That said, the chemistry and tension really amped up in this installment. The romance took center stage, and I enjoyed seeing Talaysan and Alaric struggle with their feelings for each other. There were lots of ‘will they, won’t they’ moments, which I loved. However, the plot didn’t move much for me—I feel like nothing major really happened? Maybe, as the second installment, it’s setting things up for book three. I’ll definitely continue with the series, but next time, I’ll reread beforehand so I’m not as confused

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book sadly suffered from the widely known "second-book-syndrome". While i loved the romance elements in this one, the rest of the plot suffered severely. A lot of telling but not a lot of showing. Yet im still excited to read book three to find out how Talasyns and Alarics story conludes.

Unfassbar gute Fortsetzung der Legendären Fantasy Reihe !

Das Buch war einfach Klasse! Guanzon schafft es, die Spannung, Emotionen und Romantik die sie in "the Hurricane Wars" schuf nahtlos fortzuführen. Die Geschichte wird noch komplexer und auch Talasyn und Alaric wachsen spürbar und schießen Ihre Beziehung damit in neue Höhen. Ich kann kaum genug von den zwei haben!

Die Autoren schafft es erneut eine Welt voller Intrigen, Spannung, Krieg und Drama zu schaffen und ich habe jede Sekunde genossen. Dieses Buch war ein absolutes Jahreshighlight!
Eine absolute Leseempfehlung von mir!

Excuse me miss Guanzon but that was an amazing ride!!
Let me be clear I am a big Star Wars girly, NONE THE LESS no one prepared me for this series.
Sure our main character sad guy is Kylo Ren but not just Kylie Ren but on steroids, with so many human emotions and such passion I can faint.
I am not a big fan of the romantasy hype but putting it in a gorgeous light vs dark setting such as this one, with an amazing South-East Asian princess and a broody emo emperor I am in.
Please bring out the next book soon, I need more banter, more epic battles and more epicness right now!

“The west wind sighs, all moons die. Bakun, dreaming of his lost love, rises to eat the world above.”

Can I just say…WOW.

*I highly recommend listening to the interview the podcast BookTalk for BookTok did with Thea Guanzon if you plan on reading this series! You learn more about Guanzon’s Filipino background which is deeply embedded into the writing and world-building.

★ ★ ★ ★ 4.75 Stars (maybe 5 I can’t decide)

The hugest thank you to HarperVoyager and NetGalley for the ARC! I did end up buying myself a personal copy.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

A Monsoon Rising continues exactly where we leave off from The Hurricane Wars. Talasyn heads to Kesath to be ordained as Night Empress to Alaric, and a skirmish breaks out between the Kesathese and the Dominion - quickly demonstrating Talasyn’s heart toward Alaric. A month later, Alaric returns to Nenavar to practice for the Moonless Night during Voidfell. They must use their opposing magicks to work together to save Lir from the death that Voidfell causes. Along the way, they must work through their feelings, political expectations, and what the Voidfell actually is.

“At the dawning of the world, you were there. You have seen the first dragon’s heart.”

We Get:
😮‍💨Enemies to lovers (but still kind of enemies
🤭Forced proximity because of the marriage
🙂‍↕️Incredibly rich world-building and prose
🤔World/magic system vibes reminiscent of Star Wars and Dune
🫢Alaric and Talasyn sparring
🫡Reylo vibes
😍Dragons
🙂‍↔️Betrayal
🫠LOTS OF SPICE

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

✩₊˚.⋆Talasyn: Our Lachis’ka and Night Empress is growing into her role and political domain. With this, her ability to LightWeave continues to improve with her necessary training with Alaric. Talasyn has to wrestle with her traitorous emotions for Alaric while trying to support a rebellion for the Continent. She is still annoyingly unable to harness her tongue at times, but she’s a little better.

✩₊˚.⋆ Alaric: By far my favourite character, maybe because I see myself in him. He is still very much a decoy for his father, Gaheris, who physically abuses Alaric if he does not succumb to his wishes. However, Alaric has his own little rebellion against his father as he and Talasyn grow closer, and he swears to himself to protect her. He even gets black whorling scars on his face 🫢

The Plot. Okay, so I’m assuming this is a trilogy? I guess I haven’t heard otherwise from Guanzon. I was incredibly impressed with the plot and writing considering this is the middle book - it did not suffer from middle book syndrome at all. In fact, this was a huge step up from book one. I thought it was fantastic and had me gripped. The main plot for this book is for Alaric and Talasyn to prevent the upcoming Voidfell from destroying Nenavar as well as the Continent, as well as both sides trying to prepare for War.

✩₊˚.⋆THE. CHEMISTRY. Holy holy. 😮‍💨 There is something to be said about spice written by an author who originally wrote fanfic. She knows what she’s doing. We got nothing for like a book and a half. And then we got everything.

Reasons points were lost: Honestly, there were times when I was reading and I would be so confused, and then things got cleared up a few pages later. We’d be dipped in to a situation without a clear explanation of what was happening. Do keep in mind I read an ARC, so this may not be the finalized product.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

I’m seriously impressed with this book. It was written so beautifully, the plot was well constructed. I haven’t read such a rich fantasy in awhile. I’d say this book is definitely epic high fantasy - you’re truly transported to a new world that has customs and words and systems you have to learn. I am so excited for the next!

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝑬𝒎𝒐𝒋𝒊𝒔: 🌗📝🍉🦋⛈️🪞

𝑸𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆: ‘Briefly, she wondered what it would be like to live in a world where she was allowed to take his hand.’

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕: An enemies to lovers romantasy sequel (Book 2 in The Hurricane Wars Series). It’s ✨giving✨ The Bridge Kingdom meets Star Wars/Reylo🤭

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕:
🌗Idiots in love
⛈️”My Wife”
🌗Banter & Pining
⛈️Morally Grey Characters
🌗Reylo Coded characters in a South-East Asian inspired world of courtly politics and magical adventure
⛈️ Absolute FILTH 🪞🌶️🥵 ( we listen and we don’t judge… we love it)

𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘:
This was one of my most anticipated sequels of 2024 and it was everything I wanted and more. Thea Guanzon manages to craft a beautiful and rich world with complex characters and relationships all the while making me laugh out loud (🍉), blush furiously (🪞) and simultaneously want to scream at Talasyn and Alaric and hug them ( I just want my morally grey little loves to live happily ever after😭😭)

For me, this book series is exactly what I want in a Romantasy book, especially one that promises enemies to lovers and morally grey characters: A well crafted fantasy with interesting and engaging lore in its own right blended with twists, turns, secrets and a sizzling, slow burn romance that works to bolster the plot and draws you in. The MC’s are flawed and though they may do questionable things it makes them feel real so that you can’t help but empathise with them and feel they are deserving of redemption and happiness.

Basically I love this book, Alaric “my wife” Ossinast has my heart and I will read anything Thea writes - I will never stop recommending this series🥰

𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Monsoons Rising is a good follow up to The Hurricane Wars, it's a bit slow on the plot and takes a while to get going but when it does it's packed with action and spice.

It's very politics heavy and I couldn't remember the characters, their names are all quite complicated too and I struggled to work out who was who a lot of the time. Once I decided to skim read over the political bits I enjoyed it a lot more, the relationship between Alaric and Talasyn is written brilliantly - the pining, the angst, the banter, it's perfect!

The ending is such a cliff hanger, I think I'll need to re-read both books before the sequel to make sure I get the characters and plot better next time.

As sequels go, it was pretty decent. Some elements were a bit predictable, and the pacing could have been better, but overall, it worked!

"Monsoon Rising" is an interesting continuation of the series with its world-building and engaging characters. The Southeast Asian-inspired setting adds a unique flair and after eagerly awaiting this next instalment, I found it satisfying and immersive, drawing me deeper into the characters' stories.

On the downside, some parts of the plot felt predictable and could have benefited from a faster pace. There were moments that dragged on without enough action, echoing issues from the previous book. While fans of arranged marriage tropes will enjoy the romance between Talasyn and Alaric, a stronger central conflict would have made the story even better. Overall, "Monsoon Rising" is a solid read that leaves me looking forward to more from the series.

Loved „the hurricane wars“ and was so excited for the second book in this series. And it didn’t disappoint. Loved it. Devoured it. Already ordered the physical copies for our store (and myself). The third and final installment is a must read.

I was beyond happy to have been given an e-ARC of this outstanding story. Having only recently read the previous book after waiting so long to get my hands on a special edition copy, which jumped its way to the top of my TBR, I knew that I needed the next instalment straight away and this did NOT disappoint!
The world building is brilliant, whilst the character development and plot twists kept me hooked. I can’t wait for this to come out in print so I can have my own beautiful copy to read again! Now to find something to do whilst I wait for the next instalment!